Ads by Google

Comments, questions and tips

I absolutely love this recipe it's incredible it's light and fluffy and very tasty a massage thumbs up I have been making this cake for years and it's always been successful well done bbc good food! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

DIDILOCKS

5th Jun, 2017

5.05

This recipe is not only extremely easy to make but equally delicious and amazing. I made this on my hubby s bday and it went down a treat. The sponge was light as silk moist and fluffy...abs perfection!
As an advice I would suggest creaming the sugar with room temp butter at first and add one egg at a time in the mixture. You will obtain a silky batter ...mine baked quickly to a golden brown...
This is one of the loveliest cakes ever and a family favorite. Cannot be more thankful for this amazing recipe xxx...please do try it...you ll be your family hero lol

jburton

13th Jul, 2017

Thanks for your informative review. I'm going to be entering the local flower show with a Victorian Sandwich cake so came straight to bbcgoodfood as this site never lets me down when it comes to recipes. After reading your glowing review I'm going to use this recipe, I have to use 3 eggs instructions of the 'powers that be' at the flower so i will use large eggs hope I that works as this recipe states 4. Wish me luck.

Everthehopeful

30th May, 2017

This recipe went down a treat. I used Hartley's squeezy strawberry jam. As someone new to baking, I found it easy to follow this recipe. For other new bakers, I've found it's easier to mix your dry ingredients together first (flour, baking powder, sugar, etc..)

genericjanedoe

15th May, 2017

3.8

Tried this recipe for the first time yesterday, and it came out reasonably well. The all in one method produces quite a dense sponge, but it's not a bad result which could do with improving.
Next time, for instance, I would be tempted to cream butter and sugar first, THEN add the egg yolk and finally FOLD IN the whipped egg white and flour to retain sponge fluffiness. I'd only add the milk if the mix seems a little stiff. I did weigh my eggs without the shell to obtain a good 200g of mix - that works out to just over four medium size eggs for me (from my own chickens, so ultra fresh. I don't know if that makes a difference to the taste). I think weighing eggs are critical to avoid making the resulting mix being too wet.
However, to ensure the cake is cooked properly, there are two things you can do; first is to push a thin skewer into the centre (thickest part) of the cake. When you withdraw it, there should be absolutely no crumb or goo attached to the skewer. If it comes out clean, then it is cooked through. Secondly, try giving the sponge a small press. If it springs back, then again, this is a sign its cooked. I carried out both tests to be sure.
I would line the base of the tin case again, but not the sides, as this has a tendency to peel away the cooked skin and makes the cake look rather anaemic. The addition of vanilla to the buttercream was a nice touch. I also added a couple of drops of rose flavouring to the raspberry jam I used in mine which I thought was quite lovely. Be generous with the jam and use a good quality one if shop bought. There is nothing worse than an indulgent victoria sponge with a thin, mean, drippy jam centre!

belladorrit

28th Apr, 2017

5.05

Love this recipe I've made it numerous times exactly as the recipe states except I make 1 and a half the amount of buttercream to fill it as I don't think the original is enough and always use Billingtons golden icing sugar which makes a yummy almost fudgy buttercream, that with a good brand of red cherry jam makes a filling made in heaven.

zoemoss

4th Apr, 2017

5.05

absolutely gorgeous , easy to make, though would recommend to beat the butter and sugar together before adding the other ingredients

Elsbelsbaker

11th Mar, 2017

This looks amazing

Elsbelsbaker

11th Mar, 2017

I've always loved Victoria sponges but I've never had any good recipes

uklaura

4th Dec, 2016

5.05

I followed the recipe exactly (using medium eggs) and it came out perfect. I have used this recipe several times and each time it has been delicious, light and spongy. Great comments from family and work colleagues alike. Although the recipe doesn't specify, make sure you use medium eggs otherwise you'll end up with a very wet mix and a cake that won't bake!

Pages

Can this be made dairy free? Using soya milk instead of cows milk and dairy free butter?

goodfoodteam

20th Oct, 2017

Thank you for your question. We haven't tested this but there's no reason why you can't use a dairy-free alternative for the milk and butter. For the butter substitute make sure that it says suitable for baking on the pack. The flavour will of course change and as this is an otherwise plain cake, there will be a more noticeable difference in flavour. One way of adding flavour would be to substitute 1 - 2 tsp of the milk alternative for vanilla essence (1tbsp = 3 tsp). Lemon zest would make another nice addition to add flavour.

bitamash

19th Jul, 2017

Hi can we use liquid oil instead of butter?
thanks

goodfoodteam

31st Jul, 2017

No, I'm afraid Victoria sandwich traditionally contains butter for flavour and texture. We have plenty of cakes using oil if you prefer to use this, https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3229/yummy-scrummy-carrot-cake or https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/9651/easy-chocolate-cupcakes or https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/apricot-cinnamon-olive-oil-cake

Silverbarby

10th May, 2017

Hello there, We live abroad and I don't have self-rising flour. Do I need to add more baking powder instead? Any help greatly appreciated as I want to make this as a birthday cake for my British hubby :-D

goodfoodteam

11th May, 2017

Thanks for your question. To make plain flour into self-raising flour, add 1 tsp of baking powder to every 110g plain flour. Good luck with the cake!

acjacobs

26th Aug, 2016

5.05

If I added cocoa powder to this, could I use the same recipe for a basic chocolate sponge?

Monmars

5th Jul, 2016

Made this cake yesterday, absolutely beautiful however today the butter cream filling became very oily and I had to scrape it out.
How can I stop this from happening? Should I just eat it all in one day?

goodfoodteam

9th Aug, 2016

Thank you for your question. Victoria Sandwiches are always best eaten within a day or two so it should have been fine the next day. It sounds like the icing became a bit too warm. We suggest storing it in a tin in a cool place. Hope this helps!

Frazzle Dazzle

7th Jun, 2016

Do you use the egg whites by themselves?

Pages

Great recipe, the cake came out perfectly golden and fluffy. We weighed the eggs to match the other ingredients, and only needed 3 to make up 200g. We filled the middle and topped with fresh fruit which made it look that bit more special. Definitely recommend creaming the butter and sugar first, then adding eggs one at a time, and then adding the dry ingredients as others have suggested.

genericjanedoe

15th May, 2017

3.8

Tried this recipe for the first time yesterday, and it came out reasonably well. The all in one method produces quite a dense sponge, but it's not a bad result which could do with improving.
Next time, for instance, I would be tempted to cream butter and sugar first, THEN add the egg yolk and finally FOLD IN the whipped egg white and flour to retain sponge fluffiness. I'd only add the milk if the mix seems a little stiff. I did weigh my eggs without the shell to obtain a good 200g of mix - that works out to just over four medium size eggs for me (from my own chickens, so ultra fresh. I don't know if that makes a difference to the taste). I think weighing eggs are critical to avoid making the resulting mix being too wet.
However, to ensure the cake is cooked properly, there are two things you can do; first is to push a thin skewer into the centre (thickest part) of the cake. When you withdraw it, there should be absolutely no crumb or goo attached to the skewer. If it comes out clean, then it is cooked through. Secondly, try giving the sponge a small press. If it springs back, then again, this is a sign its cooked. I carried out both tests to be sure.
I would line the base of the tin case again, but not the sides, as this has a tendency to peel away the cooked skin and makes the cake look rather anaemic. The addition of vanilla to the buttercream was a nice touch. I also added a couple of drops of rose flavouring to the raspberry jam I used in mine which I thought was quite lovely. Be generous with the jam and use a good quality one if shop bought. There is nothing worse than an indulgent victoria sponge with a thin, mean, drippy jam centre!

ChocolateEclare

17th Jan, 2017

5.05

Lovely cake easy recipe, for a special occasion I added strawberries cut into halves, by placing them on top of the buttercream filling on the base layer facing inward around the outside edge then add the strawberry jam covered top layer of cake on and see the strawberries peeping out. Different.

Clivealive63

31st Aug, 2016

Whenever making a sponge like this, before I do anything , I weigh my eggs.
3 large eggs came to 210g .... or 4 small eggs were similar
Therefore I need 210g of flour, sugar and butter ...... batter is light and not wet.
Weigh your eggs first ..... :-)

corgimuffs

1st May, 2016

5.05

Everything about this recipe is great, except the cooking time-we baked this for about 45 minutes as apposed to the 20 minutes suggested.

mrssippy

13th Mar, 2016

5.05

this cake was so easy to make but I adapted it slightly and replaced 50gms of the flour with cornflour as I do with all my sponges makes them light as a feather DELISH !!!

Torit

11th Jan, 2016

I added an extra egg white and a few drops of vanilla extract to the cake batter and it was light and fluffy and tasted delicious.

freyfreyB

1st Dec, 2015

i recommend sieving the flour first,
as i found that it created lumps in my mixture and didn't come out :(

chlotridge

19th Jul, 2015

5.05

This recipe is so reliable, I always manage to make a perfect sponge with this. I have done it a few times with plain flour instead of self-raising when I haven't had any self-raising in the cupboard. I add just a smidgen more baking powder and the result is the same! Love this.

GeorgeHepher

18th Mar, 2015

3.8

I always bake this cake in one tin and then cut it in half afterwards as I think it rises better and means you don't need to level the top of the bottom layer off, saving precious cake!

Reader offer: £10 off + 2 free craft beers

Skills & know how

As well as helping you decide what to cook we can also help you to cook it. From tips on cookery techniques to facts and information about health and nutrition, we’ve a wealth of foodie know how for you to explore.

About BBC Good Food

We’re all about good recipes, and about quality home cooking that everyone can enjoy. Whether you’re looking for some healthy inspiration or learning how to cook a decadent dessert, we’ve trustworthy guidance for all your foodie needs.

Our recipes

All our recipes are tested thoroughly by us to make sure they’re suitable for your kitchen at home. We know many of you are concerned about healthy eating, so we send them to a qualified nutritionist for thorough analysis too.

This website is made by BBC Worldwide.

BBC Worldwide is a commercial company that is owned by the BBC (and just the BBC). No money from the licence fee was used to create this page. The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes.